Hogue EX-04 Knife Porn. I Can’t Afford One Either.

Hogue’s EX-4 is a tactical-style folder with sleek looks and a fairly hefty price tag. Despite all those buttons, it is not an automatic: it’s a thumb-stud manual opener. That button near the pivot is the blade lock, and the button behind it is a manual safety lock.

Did you know you needed one of those? Me neither.

The EX-04 comes in modified Wharnecliffe and ‘Upswept’ blade styles, with blade lengths of 3.5 or 4 inches. I love the looks of the modified Wharnecliffe, which looks like it might even have enough belly to be a good general-purpose EDC knife.

All of these top-grade components don’t come cheaply enough for this to be the most affordable EDC knife, however. Street prices hover near $200, which some might consider steep for a 154CM blade. As with most blade steels, I suspect the devil is in the details of the heat treatment.

comments

From what I’ve seen these are pretty much the best quality you can get in a production knife besides ZT, Spydercos made in Taichung, and Chris Reeve but Chris Reeve I dont really know if I would consider them production.

I like hogue knives, but there is always one thing that keeps me from buying one…THE WONKY POCKET CLIP. I’ve contacted Hogue in the hopes that they would modify the pocket clip, although it doesn’t seem like enough people feel the same way I do, as they’re still using that ridiculous pocket clip style.

I agree with you completely. That clip is a deal breaker for me. I could never bring myself to carry a knife with a fugly clip like that no matter how nice the blade is. Other issue is it is tip down. This is a dangerous way to carry a knife as it can cause major damage to your thigh or hand if it opens in your pocket. They don’t call this knife carry style raccoon traps for nothing.

I don’t mean any offense, but it’s not dangerous. The blade would literally have to open straight up, against gravity and the button lock which provides a certain amount of detent – along with the safety which locks the blade in the closed position. it’s a valid concern for some knives, i.e. automatic knives with proud buttons, but I don’t think it applies here.

Source: I’ve been collecting and carrying knives nearly every day for the past three years.